5. The Lion’s Prey

Amara POV:

The night air outside the Iron Citadel smacked me in the face as soon as I stepped through the gates. It was cold, sharp, and cruel, like the bastard I’d just left behind.

Viktor Dragovic thought he could reel me in with his big speech and smug smile, like I was some pawn ready to be played.

Screw him. I wasn’t going to dance for anyone, least of all a man like him.

The guards at the gate didn’t look me in the eye as I passed. Good. Let them be afraid. I hailed a cab, the sharp whistle cutting through the eerie silence of the street.

The headlights blinked once as the car rolled up, and I climbed in without saying a damn word, slamming the door behind me. The driver asked where to, but I barely heard him over the pounding of my thoughts. When I finally mumbled my address, he nodded and took off.

The city blurred past the windows, the dark streets and flickering lights swallowing me whole. My boots tapped against the floor of the cab, restless, angry.

Viktor had pissed me off in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain. That smug bastard had nerve. I thought about his offer, the resources, the army, the promises of power. And I hated that for a split second, it had tempted me. That brief flash of intrigue felt like betrayal, like I was betraying myself.

By the time the cab pulled up to my building, I was already halfway through the bottle of rage I’d uncorked back at the Citadel. I tossed cash at the driver without waiting for change, slamming the door shut and heading up the stairs two at a time.

The second I stepped into my apartment, I locked the door behind me and ripped off my coat, throwing it onto the couch. My boots kicked at the coffee table, knocking over an empty bottle of whiskey from God knows when. I collapsed onto the cushions, my body tense, my hands clenching into fists.

I was still fuming, replaying that stupid meeting in my head, Viktor standing there, all arrogance and control, looking at me like he already knew I’d come crawling back.

The thought made my stomach turn. I’d show him. I’d prove him wrong.

But then my phone buzzed on the table, snapping me out of my spiraling anger. I frowned, reaching for it.

Eva’s name flashed across the screen, and for a second, my chest tightened. Eva wouldn’t call at night unless something was wrong.

“Eva?” I said, trying to steady my voice. “What’s going on?”

Her voice hit me like a punch to the gut, shaky, scared.

“Amara… Luca’s gone.”

I froze, the words echoing in my head like a siren. “What?”

“Someone came to the house,” she said, her words tumbling over each other.

“A man. He said it was business. He… he took Luca.”

My heart stopped, and then kicked back to life, hammering in my chest. “Who the hell took him?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice trembling. “But… Amara, I think you know.”

The name hit me before she even said another word. Viktor. That bastard. Somehow, some way, he’d found Luca. My Luca. The one thing that mattered, the one piece of me I’d kept hidden from the darkness.

I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I just moved. Dialing Viktor’s number, slamming my phone against my ear, my hands shaking so hard I could barely keep hold of it. He had given his number to me incase I changed my mind.

He picked up after the first ring, his voice smooth as always.

“Amara. I wondered how long it would take.”

“You bastard!” I yelled, my voice breaking with rage. “What the fuck did you do? Where is he? Where is Luca?”

“Relax,” he said, maddeningly calm. “The boy is safe. For now.”

“For now?” My chest heaved, my breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts.

“If you hurt him—if you so much as touch him—I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”

“No need for theatrics,” he said, his tone carrying that infuriating amusement.

“I thought you might want some reassurance.”

Before I could respond, the sound of a video call notification filled the air. My stomach dropped as I saw the screen light up with his name. I tapped to accept it, barely able to keep my hands steady. The screen flickered once, twice, and then there he was.

Luca. Sitting in a dark room, his small face pale and terrified. His eyes looked glassy, wet with tears, and the sight of him sent a dagger straight through my chest.

“Luca!” I gasped, my voice breaking. “Baby, are you okay?”

His head turned toward the camera, his big, scared eyes locking onto mine. “Amara?”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “I’m here. I’m going to get you out of this, I promise.”

The camera shifted, and suddenly I saw the man standing behind him. He was broad, dressed in black, his face a mask of cold indifference.

His hand rested firmly on Luca’s shoulder, and I felt a fresh wave of fury churn in my gut.

“Who the fuck are you?” I snarled, my voice shaking with rage.

The man didn’t answer, didn’t flinch. Viktor’s voice came through the line again, calm and calculated as always.

“That’s one of my men. He’s there to ensure Luca’s safety.”

“Safety?” I spat, my voice dripping with venom. “You call this safety? You kidnapped him, you sick, twisted bastard!”

“Amara,” he said, his voice steady,

“I don’t want to hurt him. But you need to understand something. You underestimated me. You hid him well, I’ll admit. But there’s nothing I can’t find, no one I can’t reach.”

“Let him go,” I said, my voice breaking. “Please. Let him go.”

“Not until you agree to my terms,” Viktor said simply.

“You work for me, and the boy goes back to his babysitter. Safe. Untouched. But if you don’t…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. The image of Luca’s terrified face filled in the blanks for me.

Tears burned in my eyes, threatening to fall as I clutched the phone tighter. I hated him. I hated him so much it hurt. But I couldn’t let Luca suffer because of me.

“You win,” I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll do it.”

Viktor’s face didn’t change. Calm, unreadable, infuriatingly composed. “Smart choice.”

Luca was safe, for now. But I’d just made a deal with the devil. And I knew it was going to cost me everything.

The moment the call ended, the room felt too small, too quiet, like the walls were closing in around me. My phone slipped from my hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t even breathe. My chest felt like it was caving in, my throat tight as the reality of what just happened slammed into me like a freight train.

Luca. My Luca. The one person in this whole fucking world I gave a damn about. Viktor had him.

That smug, arrogant bastard had reached into my carefully hidden life and ripped out the only thing that mattered to me.

How? How the fuck had he even found him?

I let out a strangled scream, raw and guttural, as everything inside me boiled over. My hand shot out, grabbing the nearest thing, an empty whiskey bottle, and hurling it across the room.

It shattered against the wall, shards of glass raining down onto the floor. But it wasn’t enough. The rage inside me demanded more.

I grabbed the coffee table, flipping it over with a loud crash, sending papers and bottles flying. My hands found the couch cushions, tearing them apart as if ripping through fabric could somehow ease the storm inside me. It didn’t. Nothing did.

I sank to my knees amidst the chaos, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. My hands were trembling, my nails digging into my palms so hard I thought they might break the skin. The fury, the fear, the helplessness, it was all too much.

I couldn’t protect him. I’d promised him he was safe, promised myself that no one would ever get close to him. And now? Now he was in Viktor’s hands. I’d failed him. Failed Luca. I’d kept him hidden, erased every trace, made sure no one could ever connect him to me. But Viktor had found him. I’d underestimated just how fucking ruthless he was.

My vision blurred as hot tears spilled down my cheeks. I pressed my hands to my face, trying to stifle the sobs that clawed their way out of my throat.

I hated this. I hated being weak. I hated feeling like the world was spinning out of my control. But most of all, I hated Viktor Dragovic.

I hated his calm voice, his unreadable face, his goddamn certainty. I hated the way he’d said Luca was “safe,” like he was doing me some kind of fucking favor.

Safe? Safe wasn’t being held hostage by a man who saw people as pawns. Safe was being in Mexico, far away from all this shit.

My hands slammed against the floor, fists clenched as fresh waves of tears blurred my vision.

“Fuck you, Viktor,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Fuck you for this.”

But even as the words left my mouth, I knew they didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Luca was the only thing keeping me tethered to what was left of my humanity, the only thing stopping me from becoming the monster I saw every time I looked in the mirror. And Viktor knew that.

He’d seen through me, through every wall I’d built, and struck at the one thing that could bring me to my knees.

And it had worked. Goddamn it, it had worked.

I sat there on the floor, surrounded by the wreckage of my rage, my body trembling with the weight of it all. I hated Viktor with every fiber of my being, but what choice did I have? Luca was involved now. Viktor had him, and I couldn’t lose him. I wouldn’t.

But agreeing to work for Viktor felt like cutting off a piece of my soul. It felt like giving him a part of me that I’d never get back. And the worst part? He’d fucking won. He’d outmaneuvered me, and I was powerless to stop it.

I wiped at my face, smearing tears and mascara across my cheeks. My reflection in the cracked window caught my eye, and I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

Disheveled, broken, weak. I hated that image. I hated what Viktor had turned me into in the span of one goddamn night.

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms again. If this was the game Viktor wanted to play, fine. I’d play. But he’d regret ever pulling me into his world. I’d work for him, I’d do what he asked, for Luca’s sake. But I wasn’t going to bow. I wasn’t going to let him think he’d broken me.

Because one day? One day, I was going to make him pay for every bit of this. For the fear, for the rage, for the tears I’d shed.

One day, I’d remind Viktor Dragovic why people feared the Revenant.

But for now, I had no choice. I had to play his game. Because Luca’s life was on the line, and I’d die before I let anything happen to him.

I stood up, my legs shaky but steady enough to carry me. My phone lay on the floor, the screen cracked from where I’d dropped it. I picked it up, staring at the last call I’d made.

Viktor Dragovic. The Lion. The devil who held my brother’s life in his hands.

I hated him with everything I had. But I was going to be his soldier. For now.

And that realization tasted like ash...